The Ring: Bring In The Robin, Call Forth The Speedster
by shells210
Summary: "We are the Guardians of the Truth. We protect people from things that could hurt them, or that they may use to hurt others. So we hide the Truth, and protect it until humanity is ready to learn." Dick stared at her, then looked at his friend, finding green eyes to meet his blue. "And who," he asked slowly, "decides when they're ready?" She smiled. "When they are, we'll know."
1. The Summoning

**This is based off of a private story I'm writing called 'The Iliou'. Once I get it up, probably on DA, I'll post a link here in case you want to see the original.**

* * *

_There is a war. A war that has been going on for seven thousand years. This war has out lasted every human civilization, every other war has been interwoven with it in some way. This war is proof of one thing that many have said throughout history._

_Knowledge is power._

* * *

She wasn't moving.

He stared at the girl, watching her stare at the screen, unblinking. The tock on the clock ticked by slowly, warning the impending end of their lunch period. He glanced at the wall, another minute gone by, and still no reaction from her.

She had a talent for this, a never ending patients that contradicted his lack thereof. She could stare at a wall for an hour and not so much as move. He could stare at a wall for five minutes and be ready to shoot something. It irritated him sometimes (most times), especially when he'd been trying to get her attention for three minutes straight with no response at all.

"She's doing that again?" the boy looked up, sighing when he caught sight of the other male and nodding before he let out a frustrated groan and fall back onto the hard floor of the library they had ended up in. The new arrival took to leaning on the wall, huffing a few strands of crimson out of his eyes. Wally let out a muffled wail of boredom and received an amused look from his senior friend, who looked over their female companies shoulder and arched a brow.

"Jean," no answer.

"Jean," still nothing.

Hartley sighed and held up a hand to silence his younger brother, who obediently shut his mouth and watched the master at work. He leaned forwards over her shoulder, using it as an armrest and still only receiving a hum before he reached forward and snapped her laptop shut. Or tried to. She raised her hands in the last second and blocked it, and Wally could see a grin sliding across her face.

"You were doing that on purpose!" he exclaimed, and Jean finally left her book to glare at him and shush the sophomore, who just glared back while Hartley grinned and sat on the floor, crossing his legs.

"Quiet ginger boy. I know you don't have a soul but at least try not to wake up James!" she hissed, jerking her head to the multicolored mass that was curled up in the only other chair in their corner of the library. "And you," she turned her attention to Hartley, lowering the screen of her computer before he could snap it shut, "didn't you already graduate?"

"Yeah, but James said I should come visit you guys," the eldest shrugged his shoulders, leaning back against one of the shelves and glancing over his shoulder to check for librarians. They were clear.

"You were ignoring me!" Wally whispered loudly, drawing a sigh from his friend when the colorful body shifted around, mumbling quietly about rabbits.

"Yes, I was," she confirmed, smiling at him innocently. Before he could snap a retort the bell rang, signaling it was time for their final class.

"Are you guys going to class?" the visiting alumni asked, standing up slowly and stretching his arms above his head. Joan shook her head and gestured to the sleeping James, drawing her legs up beneath her and crossing them.

"I've got some research to do, and someone has to keep the teachers off of James' back for sleeping," she looked to Wally, who shook his head and gathered up his poor attempt at studying.

"If I ditch again Mom will kill me," he said, pushing everything into his backpack and running a hand through his hair, dread filling him at the prospect of Gym class.

"I can call you in," Hartley offered, pulling a phone out of his pocket, "I am nineteen after all, it would be legal."

For a second he actually considered doing as his friend offered and avoiding the horrors of dodge ball before he shook his head and stood up, tossing the overly full bag over his shoulder.

"I'd better go. It'll only be make up sheets if I don't," he grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning away from his female friend and the sleeping form of his Rogue, idly wondering if James ever got a decent night's sleep. He seemed to pass out in class a bit more than was strictly normal. His fellow red head was nodding and had his phone stored away already, starting the trek out of the school with only a brief farewell to the younger girl and boy. Wally walked out the side door of the library, waving to the teacher in the hall and making his way to the athletics department, dragging his heels.

* * *

Richard Grayson was sitting in class, doodling an odd rendition of his history teacher, the most monotone person in the world. Barbara wasn't in that class, Artemis was in the class above it, and Wally was running laps so he couldn't text him. He was so bored he thought he might fall asleep.

"Grayson," his head snapped up and his mouth opened, ready to give a perfect excuss about how detailed his notes were before he caught sight of the phone in Mr. Gibson's hand, "The office wants you."

He smirked and stood up, scrapping together his things and waving off the teacher and students he was forced to share the room with. It was probably Bruce. Well, hopefully it was, and hopefully he had a mission for the young Bat.

The hallways stretched out before him, long and pristine, lined with lockers on both sides. He had to cross the well groomed court yard to reach the main office of Gotham Cities most prestigious highschool, and when he did enter he was surprised to see no Alfred, but a girl a little older than he himself sitting in one of the cushioned chairs to his right, facing both the windows and the door, with a small stack of papers in her lap.

Dick ignored her for the moment, instead approaching the woman who sat behind the front desk, Mrs. Janice Lo. She glanced up when he walked over to her before returning her gaze to the screen of the computer. He had to wait several minutes before coughing and giving his name. She finally looked at him directly for more than four consecutive seconds.

"Ms. Turner to see you," she motioned to the young girl and the dark haired boy looked back at her, curiosity taking over his features as he took a closer look at her. She was his age, maybe a little older, and an inch or so above his height he could see now that she had stood up. Brown hair was pulled back in a bun, braided strands curling around to hold. Grey eyes stared at him from above an aquiline nose, scattered with freckles. She was dressed casually, but unusually professionally for someone their age in a grey cardigan and slacks.

"Jeanne Turner, pleased to meet you," she held out her hand and Dick took it, once more surprise by her strong grip and pleased with the small smile she displayed, revealing the slightest glint of braces.

"Dick Grayson. But I'm guessing you already knew that," he smirked at her and she nodded, pulling the papers up to her stomach and jerking her head towards the door.

"I was wondering if I could speak with you, privately? You're recent activities in the, eh, Aves' area has caught our interest," she smiled at him a bit wider and he nodded, forcing himself not to act out on surprise as he allowed their hands to drop before leading the girl out into the open area outside the school. She followed him without complaint. He stepped to the side of the building out of the view of the cameras, ignoring the gnawing in the pit of his stomach. Aves=Bird. He wondered why she had mentioned those. There was no way she could know who he was, he was too careful, and they had never met in his life. But he hadn't done anything involving birds that most any one actually knew about.

"So what did you want to talk about?" he asked, leaning against the wall. He watched Jeanne shift about slightly before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small bundle of cloth, slightly larger than her hand and took it from her when she handed it to him. He pulled the clothe apart slowly, freezing when he realized what it was. In his hand lay a Bird-A-Rang.

"I know you're going to deny everything, so I won't bother trying to get you to admit to _that. _I'll get straight to my reason for being here. I am a representative of an organization that is interested in you, both for your specific skill set and several other traits you've shown, specifically your intellect. We are not affiliated with the League, nor are we a part of any group that opposes them," he wanted to say something, to tell her he didn't know what she was trying to say, but he couldn't move his mouth. His tongue sat heavily between his teeth and the skin touching the clothe tingled badly. There couldn't be any- "-Drugs on the clothe. They seep through your epidermis, mister Grayson, you won't remember any of what I'm about to tell you. It will be sealed away subconsciously. My group, the Ring, are the keepers of the Truth, the entire history of the world and everyone and everything in it. We keep the record and protect people from knowledge that would bring them harm, or that they could use to harm others. That's why we would like to offer you an invitation to join us. If you choose to accept our offer you will have to pass a test, just as we all have, alongside several other candidates for our ranks. Should you find yourself interested come to this address," she took the weapon and the clothe from his frozen fingers, replacing it with a thin slip of paper, "on the 2nd of September. Your subconscious will drive you to go to that address at that time, should you choose to join us or just come out of curiosity. Until then, I hope you have a nice day, Mr. Grayson.''

Before he could even begin to recover from whatever had seeped into his pores she stepped back, smiling at him again before turning and vanishing around the corner of the building.

* * *

On the 2nd of September Robin found himself standing, in civvies, in a room full of ten other people, with no idea why he was there. Off to the side he caught sight of a flash of familiar red hair. No way.

"Wally?" the head spun around, revealing green eyes and a face full of freckles. Yep, Wally West. He stood out in the crowd, the only red head among several brunettes, two blondes, and more than one person with black hair. Their ages ranged, though eighty percent of the people around him were below the American drinking age. He was one of the only four boys in the room, the other six were girls, who Wally had to pass on his way over.

"Dude," he muttered when he was close enough, looking around them at the room they were in, "where are we? Why are we here?"

"No idea," he replied, pushing his sunglasses further up and looking around the dark space. He could just barely make out small engravings on the wall, delicately carved into what appeared to be solid stone. The only source of light he couldn't identify, but it offered the smallest glint off of the steel door Dick could see to his left. Just as he was going to inspect the metal further the door opened silently, allowing three figures to step through. Two female, one male.

It was Leanne, and a girl who looked startlingly similar. They both had the same grey eyes and the same shade of brown for their hair, the same shaped nose and the same high cheekbones, though those of the other girl, a few years older, were more pronounced. The only different was the age and how they wore their hair, Leanne's the same as it had been before, and the other girl's falling in low waves but for the French braid that pinned her bangs.

"Jean?" Dick looked over at Wally, noticing the surprise on his face when he saw the older girl.

"You know her?" actually, how did he know Jeanne? She looked familiar, and he knew her name, but he had no idea where he had met her, or how he had gotten to wherever it was they were then.

"She's one of my best friends," Wally replied, looking utterly bewildered as he stared at the two girls. The boy stood behind them, a good six feet tall. He too shared their featured, but broader, sharper, and more squarely built. He looked to be the oldest in what Dick assumed to be siblings.

"You know the other two?" Dick asked, leaning closer to his friend and watching the confusion spread across the now more illuminated faces of his fellow captives.

"No, never seen them before."

The three stood before the crowd of young men and woman, standing tall and observing them with the same cool air of professionalism Dick felt like Jeanne was well associated with. Jean stepped forwards, the dark folds of the cloak that was draped around her, and her siblings, twisting in the shadows. The young hero watched a smile spread across her face and her hands spread to either side of her.

"I bet you're wondering why you're here."


	2. Rings

**I'm working on Feathers Tourists and the Colors of the world, as well as Emerald Justice, but this is something I've been thinking of for a long time to we're doing that as well.**

* * *

When Joan stepped out of the opening in the wall Wally was shocked. He had no idea what he was doing here, or what she was either. He couldn't remember coming to wherever he was, the last place he had been was… was where? The ginger haired boy frowned and tried to remember where he had been before that, but it wouldn't come to him. A twist shot up his spine and a chill settled over his skin when he remembered something Joan had mentioned earlier that week, something about seeing him on Thursday, even though she had said she wouldn't be in town the week before. When he had asked about it she had brushed it off, telling him not to worry about it.

"It's good to see you all," his friend stated, standing tall before them, chin raised and eyes sliding from face to face, "you won't remember it, but several days ago you were approached by one of us that stands before you, either my brother, my sister, or me personally. At that time you were given something important to you, wrapped in a cloth that was dipped in a poison that entered through the pores. Your memory of our time was wiped and the information given to you was saved into your subconscious. For one reason or another you chose to come here, to join us or to learn more about us."

"Who are you?" Wally looked to the side, finding a girl younger than he standing there, blonde hair flopping messily into her eyes. He checked, her hands were shaking.

"I am Jean , this is my sister, Jeanne, and my brother Jaden. We are representatives of the Aegis. We collect and protect the Truth about everything. History, events, people, magic," she met Wally's eyes, waiting for the scoff he gave and smirking when she received it, "and other such things that could be of dangerous nature if set to motion by the wrong people."

"Now," her brother stepped forwards beside her, "we have invited you to join us, and help us in this endeavor. The fact that you are here means that something inside of you has compelled you to accept that invitation already."

"We're taking you to the test now," Jeanne said, opening her previously crossed arms and revealing several wrapped up bundles, "these are what we gave you before, but without the drug. You'll get them back for good now."

Wally waited while she passed them out, watching the others take theirs and accepting the one that was handed he him. He looked over at Dick, watching sight of the familiar red glint within the folds of the material and the shock that flashed across his best friends face. Wally went to open his open, freezing when he found Kent Nelsons watch sitting inside.

"This way," Jean ordered, turning to the door and starting to walk through. The group, not having any other choice, followed after, walking past the engraved runes and into another room. Light struck them suddenly , blaringly bright in their eyes and Wally had to squint to see.

* * *

Dick, no he was Robin now, he needed to be a detective, looked around the new surroundings, soaking in the details. The room swept high into the air, resembling wide opened ballrooms he had been in as Bruce Wayne's charge. Off to either side were three dozen or so box's lined with curtains, like those that appeared in opera houses, and directly in front of them rose several steps up to a high wooden chair with five chairs lined up off to either side of it, all eleven ornately carved in odd twists and curls. Between the group and the chairs, the middle of which was occupied by yet another figure in a cloak, the hood obscuring their face rose three pedestals with a single box on each. The boxes shine metallic, Gold, Silver, and Copper.

The room itself was illuminated by a dozen or so chandeliers, mostly small but the center one, which dipped low and blazed with the three times the number of outlets as the other. The torches themselves were blazing with a bright light, throwing away any shadows that may have dared enter the room. Within the lining boxes were people, the dark haired boy noted, all of them similarly obscured from view both by the shadows that were cast by the boxes themselves and the layers of cloth that fell from around their shoulders.

Jaden took the lead, strolling confidently across the room and onto the open stone floor, contrasted with the wood that carved out to the boxes. The moment his feet touched the marble the ground lit up, blue blazing into a pattern across the solid sheet of stone. Robin frowned and stared at it, trying to discern what the pattern was. All he could make out from his place on the ground before the expansive image was three circles intersecting into a triquetra, branches flying forwards towards the chairs and twisting off from the main line, twirling around the floor in what appeared to be something reminiscent of a tree.

"Come on, you can inspect everything later," Jean stated, drawing the others to the displayed boxes. They split up, he, Wally, and the blonde girl who had spoken up earlier surrounding the silver box and the remaining seven separating into the other two. They looked in wearily, finding a box filled with rings. Out of the corner of his eyes he took stock of the other two containers, which contained the same, each filled with rings of various designs of the same materials as the box they rested in.

"What are we supposed to do?" Wally asked, looking straight at Jean, who merely smiled and gave him a small shrug as she took a step away with her siblings, all three taking evenly spaced positions along the bottom steps of the short stair case to the chairs.

"Figure it out," was the oh-so-helpful advice of his best friends supposed friend.

The two heroes in disguise exchanged looks before focusing once more on the task at hand.

"Looks like there's no way out except to pass this 'test'," the Boy Wonder commented, frowning at the silver rings before them. Each one was crafted differently but for their metal and for the stone that was somehow embedded in the metal, size and shape varying just as greatly as the metal they were placed in, though all were the same shade of blue sapphire, the same shade that glowed from the twisting shape beneath their feet.

* * *

Wally West was, by all rights, a scientific genius. He had recreated the Flash's accident in his garage, he had entered high school three years ahead in math and had chemistry his first year, whereas most kids had to wait until their junior year. Surely figuring out what a girl wanted him to do with a ring wouldn't be that hard right?

Wrong.

He had no idea, and if Dicks pinched brow and gnawing lip were anything to go by he didn't know either. It was actually the girl from before who took a leap of faith and reached into the box, pulling out a small ring and holding it up to the light. The gem shone brightly, brighter than it should have, perched in a swirl of wire that rested directly on an otherwise plain band of metal.

Two others from the gold box copied her while the third remained fixed in place, all four of the copper children selecting rings from the container before them. Wally looked up at them, frowning slightly before he remembered something.

Jean always wore a ring.

It didn't matter what else she was wearing, what color her shirt was, what earrings dangled from her lobes, she always, _always_, wore a silver ring on the middle finger of her right hand, and she never took it off. Not when they went swimming, not when they were doing pull ups in gym class, she never removed it. It was plain to, a simple band, but there was thin, twisting line of blue that slid through the metal.

Slowly Wally reached a hand into the box, pulling out one of thicker banded rings that had, perfectly enough, and blue lightning bolt shooting through the center. He sent a pointed look to Dick who, after a moment, copied his movements, pulling out a thinner band with a short line of three gems.

"Hope I'm right," the red head mumbled, and he and his friend pushed the rings on at the same time.

"Any minute now we're going to wake up in the shire and go to a birthday party," the other mumbled, and they looked around to see the others reactions. Their blonde companion had also put on her ring, as well as all of the copper, but two of the gold were shaking their head and slowly backing away, mumbling quietly about something or other. Jeanne stood up, shoulders rolling back and stepping off of the stair she had, at some point, sat down on.

"Do you forfeit the test?" her voice rang out, sharp and clear through the auditorium. A quiet murmur slid through the occupants of the box's and her siblings rose to their feet as well. Something twisted in Wally's stomach, the same thing that had bit at his gut when they discovered the express elevator in Cadmus, the same things that said something was very, very wrong.

"Yes!" the first one shouted, hands shaking as they threw the ring back into the box. The other, who had not taken a ring, nodded in vigorous agreement and two of the copper people, both young women, ripped the rings off their fingers and shoved them back in the box, stumbling away from the pedestal.

"We forfeit too!" one shouted, and all four stood together, looking around at each other and the arena, wide eyed and scared.

"Very well," Jeanne said slowly, and her hand raised to shoulder height, sparks of blue falling off her spread fingers, "_**You forfeit your claim to the knowledge of the Aegis, and so your knowledge you shall loose**_," a new voice came in with hers, echoing the words and bouncing off of every surface in the room to wrap around the four who said no. Light trembled around Jeanne's form and the sparks grew to flames, twisting around her hand and falling down her arm, wrapping around her body and spilling down to her feet where they touched the floor and shot across the stone, overtaking the figures of the four.

The last thing Wally knew of them were their screams before they were gone, leaving nothing behind.

No blood, no bones, no ash.


	3. News!

**Okay so starting tomorrow is finals week, which means one of two things.**

**A) I will either be updating a lot because I write to procrastinate on my studying.**

**or**

**B) I won't be updating at all because I'm in a panicked frenzy over studying. **

**So this isn't an actual update, but while you wait I would appreciate any feedback you want to give me, and if you have the time to vote in my polls that would be great as well. I should get back to my normal habits by the first week of January, when school sets back in, and Christmas break I won't even try to guarantee anything. You might see some christmas fillers though, but who knows! **

**So yeah, that's about it. And if I don't get to say it later, I'll say it now. **

**Merry Christmas!**


End file.
